FIRST BADGE RIDE FIVE

Badge Ride Background

It may seem almost stereotypical, given that it was two police officers (Barrie Police Service Sgt. George Cabral and Const. Michael Majury) who organized and staged the first "Badge Ride" years ago. But believe it or not, the initial ride was held to raise funds to purchase a specialized wheel chair for a young physically disabled boy named Shane, hence the Badge Ride for Shane logo.

 

These two police officers, upon learning that a member of their service was having difficulty acquiring a new specialized wheel chair for their growing son, decided they had to help out. They started tossing fund raising ideas back and forth to see if they might come up with something that might raise the roughly four thousand dollars required to get this wheel chair where it was really needed.

 

Being motorcycle enthusiasts they ultimately decided to arrange and organize a scenic motorcycle ride through Simcoe County in an attempt to raise enough money to purchase the specialized wheel chair along the way. It was a truly grass roots event which attracted mostly police officers, emergency workers and friends through word of mouth, emails and a few small posters.

 

The Barrie Police Association, upon hearing about the Badge Ride and its cause, decided to lend its support. That support came through in the form of strong solid enthusiasm as well as a significant monetary donation that in the end was instrumental in making the acquisition of the specialized wheel chair a reality. Support was also provided by the Barrie Police Service who endorsed and provided support through "in kind" donations.

 

About six weeks later on Sunday July 18th, 2004, the Badge Ride got its initial start when, with little fanfare, it kicked off from the Tim Horton's parking lot on Bayfield Street North in the City of Barrie. Six uniformed police officers on police motorcycles from Barrie Police, Ontario Provincial Police, South Simcoe Police, York Regional Police and Peterborough Lake Field Police were in attendance and volunteered to provide escort for the ride. The ride snaked through some very scenic roads at a gentle pace, and in the end when the ride was over; enough funds had been raised to purchase the specialized wheel chair to help this boy.

 

The "Badge Ride" brought police motorcycle enthusiasts together with public motorcycle enthusiasts for a gentle winding ride through some of the most scenic roadways Simcoe County has to offer while promoting inter-agency co-operation. It presented policing in a positive light working with the community to make life a little easier for one family and one young boy.

 

The initial Badge Ride was expected to be a one-off event, however by the end of the ride it was apparent that everyone wanted to see the event continue and thus the Ontario Police "Badge Ride" was born.

 

 

Hope to see you out to Ontario Police Badge Ride 2010!